Last night our church held the annual Advent Adventures. The best way to describe this is to say we load up hundreds of children with tons of sugar and every Christmas craft known to humankind and send them home for their parents to deal with. It was awesome.
Tonight, we have the Temple Christmas Parade. All I can say is more planning and preparation went into our parade float than there was for D-Day.
Next Sunday, in both worship services, our music ministry will perform Handel’s “Messiah” and then, in the afternoon, we will have the Carols and Keyboards Christmas Music, by Sammy Marshall and Dr. Carl Bradley.
In addition to everything else that’s happening, our preschool has Christmas programs and parties celebrating Jesus coming into the world and into our lives.
It’s a lot to take in as I think about all the Sunday school class parties and everything else that comes with this season.
My concern is if we aren’t careful, all the programs and celebrations will overshadow what this time of year is truly about. We must be intentional about keeping the main thing, the main thing.
When the angel explains to Joseph why Mary is pregnant and what his role is to be in caring for God’s child, the angel says, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
In the midst of everything you do to celebrate Jesus being born, always keep the main thing the main thing. That’s what truly makes this time of year so special.
Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, thank you for sending your child to save me. In the midst of the hectic time of this season, help me always remember what it is really about. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
For our church, the Season of Advent has a lot of moving parts. As long as they all point to the One who was born to save us, I’m good with it.
Also, please pray it doesn’t rain tonight. If it does, I am going to have an entire Children’s Department frustrated they didn’t get to ride the float in the parade. I’d rather not have to deal with it.
I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins
Daily Devotionals by Dr. Tom Robbins 